We don’t need a psychic to predict our future; we only have to look to our past to see what’s on the horizon.

There’s a reason that Benjamin Franklin’s “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” message has lasted all these years. If heeded, it keeps us from being late to the party.

Take stock of how you got to where you are and suss out the stepping-stones that brought you here. Resist the urge to blame someone else. That will always keep you tardy for a different future.

“Early” means catching the impeding behavior before it kicks in or just as it does. That means to notice that you’re executing a step of the plan that got you here in the first place. Just this observation is often enough to stop taking the same steps again.

A realization arises within you that you’re about to recreate your past.

Patterns are made up of the same steps. You’ll always arrive at the same place with your patterns in place. Observing your patterns in action gives you the insight not to follow a predictable path again.

The pathway to change always involves noticing and interrupting the steps that have led to your current situation.

Want to create a different future? Get an early start on deconstructing your patterns. Then the only thing you’ll be late for is getting stuck again.